1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hand-held or self-portrait camera which is utilized to take a picture of the person holding the camera. The user (operator) of the camera simply holds the camera out at arms length and turns the camera backwards towards the body or the face of the operator. More particularly, the present invention relates to alignment arms on the camera which will guide the operator so that the face or a selected portion of the operator will appear in a predetermined position in the ultimate picture taken.
2. Prior Art
Disposable cameras have become very popular, especially because they are relatively inexpensive and readily available. They can be purchased with preloaded film and flash lights. They are particularly convenient when traveling or at parties. However, current disposable cameras are inconvenient for taking your own photograph.
When a camera is used to take self-portrait pictures, it is usually held away from the user and pointed back towards the user. Such an arrangement makes it generally difficult for the user to know his own position within the coverage of the lens or his position relative to other objects within the scene to be photographed.
A patentability search was conducted on the above invention and the following references were uncovered in the search.
______________________________________ Deleeuw 5,576,781 Issued Nov. 19, 1996 Fredrickson 4,984,371 Issued Jan. 15, 1991 Lupis 4,283,135 Issued Aug. 11, 1981 Dine 3,836,927 Issued Sept. 17, 1974 Ellman 3,385,188 Issued May 28, 1968 Pollock 3,539,324 Issued Jan. 23, 1951 Nicholas 2,667,825 Issued Feb. 2, 1952 Luboshez 2,434,172 Issued Jan. 6, 1948 Leong 2,951,429 Issued Sept. 6, 1960 Augustin 3,195,431 Issued July 20, 1965 Kessler 5,768,645 Issued Jun. 16, 1998 Ueda et al 4,530,580 Issued Jul. 23, 1985 Rothfjell 2,868,096 Issued Jan. 13, 1959 ______________________________________
The Leong patent is considered pertinent merely in that it discloses an attachment for a camera that extends at an angle to indicate the field of view of the lens. The Augustin patent is considered pertinent in that it discloses two rods that extend from the front of the camera to measure focal length. However, neither Leong nor Augustin deal with the problem of self portraiture, and neither teaches or suggests the invention disclosed herein.
The only patents which even discuss the self-taking of pictures are the Kessler, Ueda et al, and Rothfjell patents, none of which disclose arms at the top of the camera, such as in the present invention, for guiding the operator so that his picture will always be within the ambit of the lens. Although the last three patents discuss the self-taking of pictures or self-portraiture, none of them disclose a pair of arms that are at the top of the camera to assist the operator of being sure that his face is going to be in the picture.